Album Cover Art-Part One
In 1939, Alex Steinweiss was employed at Columbia Records as the first artwork director for the company and chose to spruce up and repackage vinyl records. We all know the result, album cover art is now an essential part of music and pop culture. (Prior to Steinweiss's creative influences, records had been generally stored in plain, undecorated packaging).
For collectors, album cover art can sometimes be as valuable as the vinyl record it holds. For example, one of the most famous album covers of all time, the Beatles "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" cover was one of the most inventive at the time and integrated cut out inserts and lyrics. The price one would pay for a copy of the album is influenced by whether or not it's the original contents plus they are intact. There are many album covers that included posters with the band also along with other "perks" for the buyer and all these elements factor in to the resale cost and collectiblity.
There have been numerous dynamic and world-famous album covers. Think about the Beatles' album "Yesterday...and Today" (1966), also called the "butcher block album" since the Beatles had been pictured on the front cover dressed in white butcher coats surrounded by bloody meat and cut up dolls. The album was quickly pulled by Capitol Records after the company received several complaints from reviewers and DJ's. The company recalled the issue and ordered a brand new cover but did not want to waste the several hundred thousand that had already been printed. Capitol then hired part-time helpers to get rid of that photo from the cover and paste on the new photo for the cover. But, it seems that there were many sluggish employees and to save time, they just pasted the brand new cover on top of the old cover and the one that was supposed to become eliminated. The outcome is three different variations of that particular album along with a collector's dream, the various versions of the album are really worth several thousand dollars (prices vary-check a record price guide to determine exactly what album you may have to get the exact cost).
Album cover artwork has also spawned several web sites in which to see famous covers and designs, readers' favorites and top ten lists. One such site, www.superseventies.com offers a comprehensive look at some of the most well-known covers from the 1970's such as the Sex Pistols "Never Mind The Bollocks," the Eagles "Hotel California," Pink Floyd's "Dark Side Of the Moon" and also the Rolling Stones' "Sticky Fingers" among others. Additionally, www.superseventies.com provides their reader's favorite seventies album covers (more than 300) with detailed descriptions and reviews of every specific release. This is a good way to spend a rainy day, as you discover some of the best album cover art of the 70's.
Album cover style is definitely an art form and permits the musicians greater control over the content and an additional important avenue in which to express themselves. In my humble viewpoint (and I share this opinion with numerous other people), with the advent of the CD, the music buying public lost a national treasure, album cover art. It is part of pop culture and recorded music generally. Certain, Cd's provide you a "stripped down" version of the first cover art, but it definitely pales in comparison to the real thing. I am sure Mr. Steinweiss would completely agree with me.
For collectors, album cover art can sometimes be as valuable as the vinyl record it holds. For example, one of the most famous album covers of all time, the Beatles "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" cover was one of the most inventive at the time and integrated cut out inserts and lyrics. The price one would pay for a copy of the album is influenced by whether or not it's the original contents plus they are intact. There are many album covers that included posters with the band also along with other "perks" for the buyer and all these elements factor in to the resale cost and collectiblity.
There have been numerous dynamic and world-famous album covers. Think about the Beatles' album "Yesterday...and Today" (1966), also called the "butcher block album" since the Beatles had been pictured on the front cover dressed in white butcher coats surrounded by bloody meat and cut up dolls. The album was quickly pulled by Capitol Records after the company received several complaints from reviewers and DJ's. The company recalled the issue and ordered a brand new cover but did not want to waste the several hundred thousand that had already been printed. Capitol then hired part-time helpers to get rid of that photo from the cover and paste on the new photo for the cover. But, it seems that there were many sluggish employees and to save time, they just pasted the brand new cover on top of the old cover and the one that was supposed to become eliminated. The outcome is three different variations of that particular album along with a collector's dream, the various versions of the album are really worth several thousand dollars (prices vary-check a record price guide to determine exactly what album you may have to get the exact cost).
Album cover artwork has also spawned several web sites in which to see famous covers and designs, readers' favorites and top ten lists. One such site, www.superseventies.com offers a comprehensive look at some of the most well-known covers from the 1970's such as the Sex Pistols "Never Mind The Bollocks," the Eagles "Hotel California," Pink Floyd's "Dark Side Of the Moon" and also the Rolling Stones' "Sticky Fingers" among others. Additionally, www.superseventies.com provides their reader's favorite seventies album covers (more than 300) with detailed descriptions and reviews of every specific release. This is a good way to spend a rainy day, as you discover some of the best album cover art of the 70's.
Album cover style is definitely an art form and permits the musicians greater control over the content and an additional important avenue in which to express themselves. In my humble viewpoint (and I share this opinion with numerous other people), with the advent of the CD, the music buying public lost a national treasure, album cover art. It is part of pop culture and recorded music generally. Certain, Cd's provide you a "stripped down" version of the first cover art, but it definitely pales in comparison to the real thing. I am sure Mr. Steinweiss would completely agree with me.
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